This Will Save Lives — Levi for Colorado

I’ve had enough of Democrats and Republicans talking past each other on gun control as kids, schools and communities pay the price in blood. That’s why I’ve worked with my team to develop a plan for active school defense measures. We absolutely need to fix America’s gun problem, but that might take a while. Let’s stop talking and start doing. We can protect students and teachers today. No solution is perfect, but this will save lives.

*** Here are a few key follow up questions we’ve received on the proposal

Q: Does this mean police won’t be allowed to have guns anymore?

A: No.

Q: Isn’t a gun more accurate?

A: No, actually it’s easier to hit a target with a pepper spray stream than a bullet. Over 70% of the time, police do not hit their intended target when shooting at a distance of less than 10 ft. (Pepper spray has an effective range of up to 30 feet.)

Q: Will it spray far enough?

A: According to Greg Shaffer (former FBI special agent, member of the bureau’s elite Hostage Rescue Team and founder of Shaffer Security Group, which specializes in active shooter response) the average distance of a gunman from a mass shooter victim is just 18 inches.

Q: Is it effective in disabiling a shooter?

A: According to a collaborative study conducted by multiple US police forces and published in Law Enforcement Technology, OC (pepper) spray incapacitates over 90% of the time.

Q: Will putting non-lethal defense tools in schools in any way weaken my 2nd Amendment rights?

A: No. But it will save lives.

Q: What about goggles/gas masks?

A: The pepper spray should include an oil-based dye that will effectively blind the shooter so long as he/she is wearing the goggles or mask. Additionally: –The shooting distance in 75% of police engagements is less than 20 feet, and it is less than 10 feet for more than 50% –People under duress lose fine motor skills — they have pounding hearts and shaking hands. A gun requires pinpoint accuracy to be effective. Pepper spray doesn’t require those fine motor skills — you spray in the general direction for several seconds, you will hit the target –DHS guidelines reccomend those confronted with an active shooter to: run, hide, fight. This is to be used as a final line of defense for those who have been unable to escape. In most cases this would likely entail directing a stream of pepper spray at a doorway.

Pepper spray is just one non-lethal option. But this is a good example of the kind of technology we need to embrace (this is not an endorsement of this specific product): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJkW3…